The Outlook for Dividends

If cash were grass, it would be up to the third-floor windows on Wall Street. And yet, despite all the money sitting on corporate balance sheets, such noteworthy companies as General Electric (symbol GE) and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) have slashed their dividends in the past 12 months. And dividend growth overall is expected to slow in 2019.

Should income-hungry investors worry? No. The economy is still strong, and companies are flush. But it never hurts to examine your dividend holdings to make sure a dividend cut doesn't catch you by surprise--and to see if there are better dividend opportunities around.

Aside from providing income, dividends are an important part of the stock